Centennial board approves dedicated classroom curriculum and student furniture fund, directs 1% of state allocation

The Centennial School District Governing Board voted unanimously Jan. 8 to direct the administration to establish a dedicated classroom curriculum and student furniture special revenue fund beginning in the 2024–25 budget year.

Director Sotherton presented the proposal, saying the district’s prior approach — a general fund annual allocation that does not roll from year to year — led to unpredictable swings when large curriculum adoptions or widespread furniture replacement were required. Under the new plan, the district will designate as the fund’s primary revenue source approximately 1% of the district’s state school formula grant allocation each year, and will also deposit revenue from the sale of surplus minor property into the fund. Sotherton cited GASB Statement 54 as the accounting standard that requires special revenue funds to have identified, dedicated revenue sources.

"Creating a dedicated special revenue fund for learning materials and student furniture would allow the district to ensure students have appropriate materials and spaces for learning," Sotherton said. He told the board the fund would allow the annual allocation (roughly 1% of the state school fund allocation) to roll from year to year and be used in higher-cost adoption years.

Board members asked for clarifications. Director Hutton asked whether the district already had a classroom fund; Sotherton said the existing classroom physical improvements fund is for capital remodeling (windows, flooring, air conditioning) and does not cover districtwide furniture or curriculum materials. He said roughly 90% of the new fund’s expected use would be curriculum materials and that furniture requests would be managed from an existing inventory and condition assessment the district completed two summers earlier.

Board members also asked how the 1% would adjust over time. Sotherton said the 1% is a percentage of the annual state school fund allocation, so it will grow or shrink alongside changes in the state allocation and that the fund’s roll-over ability would permit multi-year budgeting for expensive adoptions (for example, districtwide literacy or math program adoptions).

A motion to create the fund, as presented by Director Sotherton, was moved and seconded and carried unanimously. The motion directs administration to establish the special revenue fund, identify the dedicated revenue sources described, and begin the fund in the 2024–25 budget year. The board did not specify immediate dollar amounts in the meeting; the percentage (1% of the state school formula allocation) was the funding mechanism approved.

Sotherton said the fund will allow the district to be proactive rather than reactive when furniture or districtwide curricular adoptions are required, and that there will be a transparent process to request furniture replacements in-year for emergency or breakage events. He cited the recent replacement of kindergarten furniture as an example of how the fund could be used to complete districtwide grade-band replacements.

The board voted "aye" on the motion; the board chair declared the motion approved. No roll-call vote with individual member votes was recorded in the meeting transcript.

Next steps: administration will draft the fund and related budget language for the 2024–25 budget cycle and present implementation details and procedures for furniture requests and curricular adoption expenditures to the board for review.